Free Telecom Daily Newsletter Get the latest news on Telcos, Next Generation Networks, Broadband, and other critical service provider topics sent straight to your Inbox. Join over 48,000 telecom professionals who subscribe to FierceTelecom for FREE!

Frontier said its offering will provide energy at competitive rates and 5 percent cash back on energy supply, and eligible customers will retain their current local energy provider. They will continue to get their bills from their current local energy utility.

The service is available in three of Frontier's serving states--New York, Ohio and Indiana--and the company is working with 16 participating gas and electric companies to deliver the service to consumers.

While the obvious target for the FTR Energy service is its own existing telephone and broadband customers, Frontier said any consumer who resides in an area where the service is being offered can subscribe to it. They can also purchase the services by working with a customer representative or through an online portal.

FTR Energy Services was launched through an agreement with Crius Energy.

Another opportunity with the new energy service is that Frontier could at some point add an energy usage application to its roster. Last year, the company got into the home services game when it began offering home security services in its Rochester, N.Y., serving territory via an agreement with ADT Security Services.

Frontier is not the only telco to get into the energy delivery game as a way to create a better bond with its customer base. Fellow telco FairPoint (Nasdaq: FRP) is also working with Crius Energy to provide energy services in its Northern New England markets, while Cincinnati Bell (NYSE: CBB) began offering energy services to its residential customer base through its new subsidiary, Cincinnati Bell Energy.

Offering energy services with telecom is not an entirely new idea. A number of municipal utilities that offer telecom services such as Bristol Tennessee Essential Services (BTES) have been offering these bundles for a number of years. Regardless of what path they come from, the moves by Frontier, FairPoint and Cincinnati Bell illustrate the growing need for companies to add more services as they see their traditional landline phone business continue to erode.